Category Archives: food

Nov14

Thankful Thursdays II

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Thankful Thursdays II

What a week! Many of my things I am grateful for are things that suddenly have been in short supply. Nothing like a good dose of change and challenge to remind you to appreciate when things are good.

1) I am grateful for the days that I get a good night’s sleep. I’ve always had a hard time sleeping, but having a child of my own has really brought “sleep deprivation” to a whole new level. Especially when teething, or growing pains, throws a wrench into the nighttime workings of toddler sleep!

2) I am grateful for warm weather. We’ve hit uncharacteristically cold weather for our locale this week, and it reminds me of several  reasons why I prefer the really hot summers here over the very cold (and snowy…yuck!) winters of my childhood.

3) I am so grateful for our beautiful home. Even with all the maintenance (some of which has been taking FOREVER lately!) and random “Oh no!” moments  of home ownership, it is so neat to have our own home to make memories in with our family.

4) I am grateful for Pinterest! How many amazing, cute ideas have I come across on that site (many of which I will never get to replicating), and how many amazing, quick and easy recipes have I come across to spice up our dinner rotations? And I know there’s always that feeling that sometimes some of these people who do these projects are crazy overachievers, it gives me something to aspire to on the crazier days of being a mom.

pinterest

5) I am grateful for crock pots. Seriously, whoever made the crock pot, I love you. Not only does my crock pot help me made chicken and pot roasts so tender they just fall apart to the touch,  it makes it possible for me to make dinner while Evelyn is having some down time, usually mornings. Unlike the days where 4:00PM hits and her separation anxiety is so bad that she must be held constantly or else break down into hysteria. And then I end up calling Jared to pick something from Chick-Fil-A because I get anxiety just thinking about trying to contain her wiggles while trying to cut veggies or cook on the stove!

6) I really enjoy the chickens. In the cooler weather, they haven’t been laying as frequently. (Frankly, that is a relief for me- I have been having a rough time trying to keep up with 3-4 eggs a day! 1-2 are much more manageable!) But they have been a lot more fun than I had anticipated them being, and Evelyn thinks that they are hilarious to watch. She’ll run to the back door and sign bird, squealing “Bir-Bir-Biiiiir!” and I know she’s hoping to catch a glimpse of the chicklets. And it’s kind of fun to be a little more “self sustaining” with having them, too. Maybe we need to get a nanny goat next, Jared?  😉 JUST KIDDING. Mostly.

SAMSUNG

7) I LOVE Evelyn snuggles. This girl isn’t the most snuggle-bunny of them, and so the moments that I can get her to sit still next to me and cuddle for a few minutes on the couch are PRICELESS. And when it is snuggling with Mom, Dad, Evelyn, and three doggies on the couch? Nothing beats snuggling with the loves of your life!

2013-11-05 14.41.53

 

Jun26

South Beach…

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South Beach…

I’m completely and unabashedly an emotional eater. I feel stressed; I want to eat. I feel sad; I want to eat. I feel frustrated; I want to eat. Considering that I felt all of these emotions the vast majority of the past year, I discovered that the weight I am at was not what I wanted to experience.

But it’s hard to retrain your body when you have gradually built up a response system the whole previous year. It’s like how I have to go to bed by a certain time every night, or else the next day is absolutely miserable for me. I’m a junkie for my sugar and carbs. I know it’s not healthy for me, (especially because my myriad of health problems make physical workouts hard to do,) and it definitely hasn’t done anything nice for my vanity, either.

Enter: South Beach Diet.

Principle 1) Eating food that are lower on the glycemic index (essentially, low on sugars- natural or added). First two weeks, no sugar or carbs–mainly veggies and low fat dairy and proteins.  No fruit (too much sugar), no bread or grains (cutting out both sugar and carbs), and not even some veggies (carrots and beets are high on the glycemic index).

Essentially, I’m going cold turkey.

I am hoping that by sticking to this, it will help me break the “addiction” my body has to the bad stuff. I’ll eventually add whole grains and fruit back into my diet. When I did the diet several years ago in college, it was amazing how much it helped me feel better about myself and my weight. I’m hoping it will happen again now.

It’s been one whole week, and I am happy to report that I have already lost 5 lbs.

That almost makes it worth not having my daily dose of bread and sugar… right?

Jul14

Red Robin ain’t got nothing on this.

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Red Robin ain’t got nothing on this.

Have any of you seen those Red Robin commercials where there are kids playing hide and seek, or the UK Grenadier Guards (The ones in the hats that aren’t supposed to move or talk no matter what) and they get a reaction when the phrase “Red Robin” is sung? (They have to respond “Yum”.)

Nuh uh. I can’t stand those commercials- so annoying.

I recently decided it was time for me to watch what I eat again, so I’m currently on the South Beach diet, phase 1. Meaning no carbs, no fruit, no sugar, really. That’s pretty difficult for me, but I’ve recently come to terms with it when I get to have delightful meals like Seafood Caesar Salad.

Seafood Caesar

NOW we can say YUM.

Shrimp grilled in EVOO and some minced garlic, a bit of crab, salad, and voila- A beautiful, tasty lunch!  Pretty fulling too. And a whole lot cheaper than eating out. I am pretty happy with the results so far-about 4 lbs in 6 days. (I promise, it’s necessary!)

I hope I can stay to this- chocolate and mexican food have been an integral part of my diet and I struggle not having them!

Besides trying to chill in my last week of true vacation and diet, the dogs are keeping me busy. We had a small playdate with a couple from Jared’s work that went really well. They have a puppy (27 lb puppy…) named Bonny. It was so much fun to watch Bonny chase a tennis ball, our Bonnie chase Bonny, and Stevie then chase OUR Bonnie.

Bonnie, Bonny, Stevie chase           Bonnie, Bonny, Stevie

Apparently Stevie’s the wimp- while Bonnie chased a dog 3 times her size, Steve went after a dog that’s smaller than him (1o lbs to his 13).

Bonnie’s also healed up amazingly well from her spay last week and has been pestering her brother nonstop. We are all happily busy and enjoying this summer weather!